Women's soccer team ends sales of 'Feelin' Thorny?' shirts

Mar. 25, 2013
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New women's soccer team in Portland, Ore., known as the city of Roses, is named the Thorns -- and dropped sales of 'Feelin' Thorny?' T-shirts after criticism that the term was sexist. / Matt Rourke, Associated Press

by Michael Hiestand, USA TODAY Sports

by Michael Hiestand, USA TODAY Sports

Pro soccer, historically, has been a hard sell in the USA â?? especially women's pro soccer.

But a franchise in the eight-team National Women's Soccer League launching next month has already has sold 6,500 season tickets.

It also had a hot-selling T-shirt, until the team stopped selling it after criticism that it was sexist.

You be the judge on the NWSL Portland (Ore.) Thorns $28 Adidas T-shirt, which was printed with the question: "Feelin' Thorny?"

In one sense, the T-shirt could be interpreted as a reference to rose thorns for a team playing in "the City of Roses."

The T-shirts were selling well after debuting last week, says Thorns chief operating officer Mike Golub, but sales ended Friday after complaints of sexism showed up on social media, including Facebook. Golub told oregonlive.com that while "a great majority of fans find (the T-shirts) funny ... there is a group of people who don't like it."

The team, along with the men's Portland Timbers of Major League Soccer, is owned by Merritt Paulson, son of the former U.S. Treasury secretary Hank Paulson. The younger Paulson declined comment.